THE Stockport Express has been the focus of international news at a conference organised for journalists and broadcasters in Bulgaria.

The conference, which was organised at the weekend by the Guardian Foundation, is part of the Guardian Media Group, which owns the Stockport Express and Stockport Times.

It was led by Guardian journalist David Ward and chief reporter on the Stockport Express Peter Devine who discussed the recent General Election in Britain. The Bulgarians are due to hold their own country-wide referendum on June 26.

The conference held in the southern town of Smolian was attended by media representatives from across Bulgaria and an envoy from the British Embassy in the capital Sofia.

Peter explained: "The conference attracted a lot of media coverage from across Bulgaria because they are keen to understand the way in which we hold democratic elections.

"Through interpreters we we able to carry on a two-way dialogue to explain issues including media manipulation, spin doctors, advertising, opinion polls and a special study we carried out of election coverage within Greater Manchester Weekly Newspapers including the Stockport Express."

The two-day event included an appearance by media lawyer Tsvetan Tsvetanov who explained Bulgarian election law before being questioned by journalists.

Peter added: "One of the things which staggered us was the fact that political parties who advertise with a newspaper can demand favourable coverage of their candidates in return.

"The Bulgarians were shocked to learn that British newspapers were independent of influence by advertisers and editors and journalists would have no truck with such a practice."